SuperCoach vs. Daily Fantasy: AFL Round 1 Primer

New to daily fantasy AFL? Schwarzwalder from SuperCoach Talk is here to help you get ready for Round 1, including an overview of PlayON scoring, plus his favorite picks at each position for the opening match between Carlton vs Richmond.

Forget what you know about SuperCoach for a second. Forget about the scoring system. What matters at PlayON are possessions……..and lots of them!

While the Champions like Dangerfield, Dusty Martin and Tom Mitchell will continue to dominate regardless of the competition, it’s the forgotten possession-getters like Andrew Gaff, Jack Steven, Ollie Wines and Dylan Shiel who become crucial in PlayON daily fantasy games. In the immortal words of Ron Barassi: “You get me possessions and I’ll shut up!”

The DFS AFL scoring system is as follows:

Kick: 3

Handball: 2

Mark: 3

Tackle: 4

Free kick for: 1

Free kick against: -3

Hitout: 1

Goal: 6

Behind: 1

With this in mind, let’s look at some of the top plays for the season opener.

DEFENDERS

Star: Jacob Weitering (CAR) $10.3M – Entering his 3 rd season at the top level, this talented 20 year old looks set to take the next step in the absence of Sam Docherty (knee reconstruction). Looked very comfortable in the last JLT pre-season game against Hawthorn, picking up 26 possessions and 12 marks. Set for a big game!

Smokey: Ciaran Byrne (CAR) $9.5M – If you need to save a few dollars in the backline then Byrne might be your man. Was given kick-out duties against the Hawks in the last JLT game where he collected 18 touches and five marks.

Don’t Touch: Dylan Grimes (RIC) $9.2M – Not a great possession winner. Does his job for the team (‘back pocket plumber’ – Tom Hafey) week in, week out but won’t bother the statisticians on his way.

MIDFIELDERS

Star: Dustin Martin (RIC) $17.0M – Premiership player, Norm Smith Medalist, Brownlow Medalist plus a stack of Coaches &amp; Players Awards. No player in history has had such a successful year individually as well as from a club point-of- view. Was well held on a couple of occasions by Ed Curnow in this corresponding match but wouldn’t be backing against him now.

Smokey: Josh Caddy (RIC) $12.4M – Played most of his time in 2017 up forward and was a handy goalsneak for the Tigers all year. With Prestia ruled out of this game, I’d expect Caddy to get more midfield minutes…and a higher Fantasy score!

Don’t Touch: Jack Higgins (RIC) $7.7M – Was the hype rookie of the pre-season but is highly unlikely to play until later in the season, according to Coach Damien Hardwick.

RUCKS

Star: Matthew Kreuzer (CAR) $16.0M – Comes into this game under an injury cloud after rolling his ankle in the last JLT game against Hawthorn. If he’s fit then he’ll take Nankervis apart in the direct Ruck duels. Remember….10 pts for every hitout!

Smokey: Toby Nankervis (RIC) $14.0M – Having said that, Nank The Tank isn’t completely hopeless… just that his strengths lie elsewhere. Nankervis is better than Kreuzer at ground level and has a ferocious attack on the ball. This sees Nankervis laying plenty of tackles per game and dishing out handballs to the fast outside runners at the Tigers.

Don’t Touch: Shaun Hampson (RIC) $9.0M – Plagued by injury in 2017, it’s hard to see him getting up for this game, let alone having an impact.

FORWARDS

Star: Charlie Curnow (CAR) $12.0M – Massive wraps on this kid. A key to Carlton’s future, he’s already being compared to one of the Blues favorite sons, Anthony Koutafides. Might even be getting more midfield time which would help his Fantasy score along nicely. More potential for a decent score than the majority of Forwards here.

Smokey: Shai Bolton (RIC) $7.7M – Daniel Rioli simply hasn’t come up in time from a broken bone in his foot, suffered in the Grand Final. Luckily the Tigers have a bit of depth to their ‘Mosquito Squad’ and Shai Bolton has been waiting for his chance. Absolute bargain at that price, he’s capable of a couple sneaky goals on Thursday night.

Don’t Touch: Jacob Townsend (RIC) $12.1M – Perhaps I’m being a tad harsh on ‘Towners’? He’s achieved near cult-status at Punt Rd after a remarkable end to the 2017 season that transformed him into a hard-tackling, goal-kicking machine. As impressive as that was, it’s hard to see him carry on with that form. Even harder to justify the price tag here.